Typewriting-machine



J. A. B. SMITH.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 23, 1919.

Patented Dec. 21, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. A. B. SMITH.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE. APPLICATION |LED MAY 23. 1919.

1,363, 191 I Patented Dec. 21, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

far:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JESSE A. B. SMITH, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO UNDERWOOD TYPE- WRITER COMPANY, OF YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 21, 1920.

Application filed May 23, 1919. Serial No. 299,236.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Jnssn A. B. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing in Stamford, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Typewriting-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to typewriting machines, and is herein disclosed as applied to a machine of the so-called Underwood fanfold billing machine type, one form of which is disclosed in the patent to VVernery and Smith, No. 1,132,055, of March 16, 1915. In such machines, the platen, which normally lies against the usual feed rolls, is adapted to be swung up clear of the feed rolls, so that a web may be drawn across an extension of the typewriter carriage at the rear, straight forward under the platen, and gaged against any desired form of gage. The typewriter carriage is, therefore, necessarily heavy compared with the usual form of typewriter carriage, and consequently imposes a heavy starting load when it is pushed to the right for the beginning of a new line of writing.

Since the return is usually eiiected by the line-space handle, which, during the return, rotates the platen, the load thus resisting the necessarily strong pull on the line-space handle at the beginning of its stroke is sutficient to cause the handle to operate the linespace mechanism violently, so that the platen is either likely to be overthrown, or, if not overthrown, puts great strain on the device which prevents overthrow of the platen.

According to the present invention, the line-space mechanism may remain unaltered, but the carriage may be pi'ovided with a finger-piece adjacent the line-space handle, so that in starting to return the carriage, the finger naturally strikes the finger-piece first and then slides off from it, with the result that the carriage is started and the platen is line-spaced by an easy movement of the linespace handle. thus avoiding the liability to overthrow. By arranging a device of this sort for first starting the carriage, the necessity of interposing a spring between the line-space handle and the platen is avoided, and thus the extremely rapid action of the spring at the end of the line-spacing movementis avoided with its consequent strain upon the overthrow devices.

The device may include a case-shift mechanism much like that of the Underwood standard typewriter, the fan-fold swing frame being journaled in the shift frame of the carriage.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an Underwood typewriting machine of the class described, embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the same, largely in section.

Fig. 3 isaa sectional view of the shift frame with the platen thrown up.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the linespace lever and finger-piece with a finger thereon at the moment of starting the carriage.

Fig. 5 is a similar perspective view at the end of the line-space operation.

In the usual Underwood fan-fold typewriting machine, typewriter character keys, not shown, swing type-bars 10, upwardly and rearwardly, against the front side of a platen 11, so that lower-case types 12 and upper-case types 13 on the type-bars 10 print through the ribbon 14 upon a web or work-sheet 15 passed around the platen. The work-sheet or fan-fold web, which is usually used around the platen, is drawn from the rear over the rear rod 16. This rod 16 forms a cross-bar of an extension 17, the latter comprising two rails 18 and 19, which are fast at their forward ends to a cross rod 19 carried on brackets 20 fast to the body of the carriage 21. WVhenever a type-bar 1O approaches the platen, it actuates the usual universal bar, not shown, so that the usual dogs, not shown, vibrate across the escapement wheel 22. which is connected to the pinion 23. At the return of the type-bar, the usual spring barrel 24 draws the typewriter carriage along one step to the left. carrying with it the extension 17. To support the rear end of the extension 17,

it is provided with the usual rolls 25. and

the carriage rides upon the usual rails 26 and 27. so that the whole movestogether.

The web used in these machines is usually fan-folded and comprises a plurality of layers 28 and 29, which are threaded around the carbon-clip bars 30 of a carbon-paper carriage 31, which slides upon the rails 18 and 19 and is provided with gages 32. To permit the web 15 to be drawn forward, the platen 11 may be swung up to the Fig. 3 position, it beingfor this purpose journaled in a swlng frame 33, usually found in the machines and connected to the usual stub axles 34 by means of the usual gears 36 and 37 fast respectively to the platen axle 38 and the stub axles 34. The two sets of gears 36 and 37 constantly connect the platen 11 to the line-space wheel 39, which is fast upon one axle 34, because the gears are constantly in mesh with small pinions 40, journaled upon the axle 41, upon which the swing frame 33 is journaled. Normally the swing frame 33 is held down in the Fig. 2 position, so as to hold a work-sheet, passed therearound, against the usual feed rolls 42 and 43, which may be like the usual Underwood standard feed rolls, except that the shaft 44, which holds them up, is usually not provided with portions adapted to release the feed rolls and also is not connected to any cast of handle.

When it is desired to swing the platen 11 to the Fig. 3 position, the typist pushes rearwardly upon the usual finger-piece 45, thereby swinging the usual arms 46 clear of the usual roller catch lugs 47, said lugs being fast on the swing frame, thus permitting the typist to draw forwardly the usual end-gage extension '48 of the front papertable 49. When so drawn forward, the platen swings up and the web may be gaged against the usual adjustable end-gage 50 and other gages, not shown herein. When the platen is thus swung up. the web 15 may be drawn forward and the carbon-papercarriage may be pushed rearwardly by the usual handle 51 to carry the carbon sheets clear of the knife 52, which is journaled upon the swing frame 33 and is operated by the usual handle 53, as set forth in my Patent, No. 1,237,716, of August 21, 1917. For operating the line-space wheel 39, the usual line-space handle 54, pivoted as usual at 55, may be utilized, having its bell-crank end 56 adapted to strike the turned over front end of the usual slide 57, with the result that when the handle 54 is operated, the

,slide 57 is driven rearwardly, thereby carrying into the line-space wheel the usual pawl 58.

- The length of stroke by which the pawl 58 drives the wheel 39 is determined by the usual adjustable finger-piece, not shown herein. The pawl 58 is positively arrested so as to arrest the line-space wheel 39 at the end of its throw, because an extension 59 of the pawl rides under a fixed stop 60 which jams the pawl 58 into the line-space wheel in arresting it. Owing to the limited space beneath the cover-plate 61, and the necessary-lightness of parts on the typewriter carriage, the stop 60 is necessarily of lim ited strength, and since the line-space wheel is normally held by a detent 62, the driving power of the handle must be considerable to overcome the strength of the spring detent 62. r

In order to enable the typist to start the carriage on its return travel almost automatically or subconsciously before operating the line-space lever, there is herein shown a finger-piece 63 formed as an extension of the usual plate 64, which overlies the open ing 65, in which the line'space lever plays, said finger-piece extending upwardly at 66 and then downwardly at 67, and curved between the two so that its rather stifiiy resiliout or springy section between 66 and 67 forms a comfortable rest for a finger of the I typist resting in and sliding over it.

The cover plate 64 is held by the usual screws 68 upon usual lugs 69, which form the limits of the opening 65,- and extend upward from the carriage frame. The end of the line-space lever handle '54 is herein shown as longer than usual. being continued in an upward extension 70, so that as the linger of the typist, shown in Fig. 4, slips off the top or off the front edge of the extension 67, the finger will strike the handle 54, as shown in Fig. 5, and swing the handle to the limit of its throw.

It has been found that by having the finger-piece 63 broad and slightly convexed transversely, and concaved vertically, the finger of the typist naturally starts the carriage by it and then slips off onto the linespace lever, thus operating the line-space lever after the carriage is in motion, with the result that the lever is operated almost without shock and so strikes the overthrow stop 60 with a blow no more severe than one which the stop is well able to stand day after day.

In order to enable the double-case types 12 and 13 to be utilized, the carriage is pro-- vided with a shift frame held together by the rear paper table 71, as well as by the axle 41 and the tie rod 72, which latter the finger-piece 45 may rock if it carries a hook arm 46 for each end of the swing frame. The shift frame is supported by a wheel 73 of much the usual Underwood type, which rides upon the shift rail 74, said rail forming part of the usual lifting frame 75, which is adapted to be lifted by the usual key lever 76.

In order to steady the shift frame and to cause it to preserve the proper position of the platen relatively to the upper and lowercase types 12 and 13, there is provided on the shift frame at each end a lug 77, much like the lug shown in the patent to Helmond, No. 1,066,275. These lugs are adapted to rest in swingingarms 78 fast upona shaft 79, which may tend to swing the arms 78 upward under the tension of a spring somewhat of the usual kind, assisted by the springs 82. Since the lugs 77 are near the center of gravity of the shift frame, and since the arms 78 are provided with journals 80, which embrace the lugs over a large arc, the shift frame is adequately steadied at that point, and is steadied at the bottom, not only by the wheel 7 3, but also by the usual arm 81. Thus by operation of the key lever 76, the shift frame rises relatively to the rest of the carriage 21 and relatively to the brackets 20.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may beused without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage and a linespace lever adapted to cause the carriage to travel, of a broad spring-finger-rest fast upon the carriage adjacent to the lever, adapted to'enable the typists finger to start the carriage, independently of the lever, and

a curved surface at the edge of the rest adapted to fit the typists finger and guide the latter to slip off onto the lever.

2. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage and a linespace lever adapted to cause the carriage to travel, of a plate fast upon the carriage having an upturned end, and a downwardlyturned extension of the end forming a spring-finger-rest adjacent the lever, and so positioned as to enable the typists finger to start the carriage thereby, and slip off onto the lever, to later operate the lever and to continue to push the carriage by the lever.

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage and a linespace lever adapted to cause the carriage to travel, and located at the left-hand end of the carriage, of a plate fast upon the carriage having an upturned end, and a downwardly-turned extension of the end forming a resilient finger-rest upon the carriage, extending below and to the left of the lever, to enable the typists finger to start the carriage thereby, and to slip off forwardly and upwardly onto the line-space lever, to later operate it, and continue to move the carriage thereby.

4. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage and an extension thereon, comprising a carbon-carriage, of a shift-frame in said carriage including a platen, a line-space driving pawl upon said shift-frame, a stop upon said shift-frame, to arrest said pawl, a line-space lever journaled upon the carriage, a plate fast upon the carriage, and a resiliently but stifiiy mounted broad finger-piece carried upon the plate, adjacent the lever and to the left of it, to enable the typists finger to take,

directly by the finger-piece, the burden of starting the heavy carriage, said fingerpiece somewhat concaved vertically and convexed horizontally to comfortably receive the typists finger and then let it slip off onto the lever, and operate the lever to turn the platen by its pawl, and continue the movement of the carriage.

JESSE A. B. SMITH. Witnesses:

CATHERINE A. NEWELL, EDITH B. LIBBEY. 

